Quiche au Fromage

I don’t have much to say about this recipe, but a basic quiche with gruyere cheese seemed delicious. It has been a while since I have made a quiche. With a busy schedule, planning on what is to be done in the garden I forget how easy and simple a quiche can be.

A quiche served right out of the oven when the crust is still flaky and buttery is divine. The good thing about this type of creation is you really can do a lot with it. I tend to prefer a large quiche as opposed to bite sized ones. They seem to taste and cook up better developing a rich golden color. Today I wanted to test and see how smaller versions look; a more individual portion. The result was still delicious but in order to develop that golden color the quiche would have needed more time in the oven. An over cooked egg gets spongy, so go easy and bake any quiche gently to just set the custard.

Quiche au Fromage Recipe

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled & cubed

5 Tablespoons ice water

8 eggs

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup gruyere cheese, grated

1 teaspoon sea salt

A few grates of nutmeg

To prepare the crust, place the flour and salt in the food processor and run for a moment to combine. Add the butter and process until a course meal forms. While the machine is still running, pour the ice water in. It will for a quick dough and that’s it. Remove the dough and form it into a flattened disk.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it’s about an eighth of an inch thick and line your pan. I use an eight inch pan for a large quiche. Chill the crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the custard.

Whisk the eggs and the cream together then stir in the remaining ingredient reserving a quarter of a cup for the top. Pour the custard into the pan and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake at 350ºF for about 45 minutes or until the custard has puffed and turned golden.

Asparagus & Potato Salad Recipe

2 bundles asparagus

2 pounds petit red potatoes, halved

Fresh chervil leaves

Fresh chives, thinly sliced

2 Tablespoon white wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon sea salt

6 Tablespoons walnut oil

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Prepare potatoes, by gently boiling them in lightly salted water, drain and set aside. For the asparagus I peeled the stalks into ribbons by using a vegetable peeler. Peel halfway through the stalk and again from the other side. The tips were trimmed for use in the salad. Keep the tips and ribbons separate. Blanching the asparagus quickly in heavily salted water brings out their vibrant green color. I cooked the asparagus tips for a minute or two and the ribbons took just a few second in the hot tub. Quickly place all of the asparagus in ice water to stop the cooking. Once cold, drain the asparagus and place on paper towels.

To complete the salad whisk the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper until creamy. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking and your set. For the final moment, plate the asparagus and potatoes and garnish with as much chervil leaves and chives as you like, and then drizzle on the vinaigrette.